Wk 16 - Theme Development: Finding The Strength Inbetween
Artist Statement - “Becoming”
Being - becoming- borrowing- believing - Belying - Bequething
Relearning - Resting - Relying - Relaying
Inspired by a semester of studies and experiences in Finnish Lapland where between countries and cultures, friend groups, relationships, livelihoods and homes Oussaiden found herself torn between a known world and one unrevealed. Countering her own expectations, the artist found a serenity in the uncertainty of the path that lay ahead of her; a sense of belonging which, with the time to reflect and explore upon her return, became the center focus of her practice.
Becoming is an installation of works where the artist looks at the transitory states within Finland’s wildlife and creates new sculptural pieces allowing her to relate to a tactile materiality that nature rarely allows for. She looks to the Arctic Hare and Reindeers who have evolved to live in constant motion and admires the serenity of these creatures who survive under such extreme conditions. Additionally she looks to the indigenous nomadic Sami people of North Eastern Europe* who historically practice animistic spirituality, rituals, and have deep roots in traditional craft and culture. All of these experiences which tell rich narratives of their own come together to create impressionist brushstrokes of an experience that the artist wishes to share with the hopes that others can relate in their own way.
Learning about life in fluid motion and in connection to nature as taught by Astrida Neimanis’ Hydrofeminist theory and Donna Haraway respectively**, Sara Oussaiden attempts to stray from the belief that art must be rooted in perfection and mastery, and instead shows us that art - like life itself - is a process. Imperfect, fragmented but generally lived with a passion for whatever comes from the experience. The space itself was curated with the aim to promote exploration from her use of multi-level presentation, considered chemistry between pieces down to the nuanced monochromatic dressing of the space. Oussaiden encourages you to get up close and personal with the works and develop your own relationship between the physical spaces they fulfil.
Touching - transience- trust -
Living - knowing - touching - trusting- being - knowing
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*Sami Spirituality (as taught by Frances Joy for Sami Cultures Module from the University of Lapland)
Sieidi - Natural form in nature that resemble animals (rocks shaped like bears, cracks in cliffs that look like snakes etc.) and are believed to be a fine line between the material world and the spiritual
Noaidi - Native word for practicing Sami Shamans
Saivo world - Native word for the spirit world in Sami Belief
**Donna Haraway and Astrida Neimanis
As learnt about in Philosophy: Feminist and Queer Studies (2024) with Undine, Donna Haraway’s string figure theory connecting people to animals became the main source of my essay later in the semester.
Haraway - Not becoming, but becoming with
“I think we learn to be worldly from grappling with, rather than generalising from, the ordinary. I am a creature of the mud, not the sky. I am a biologist who has always found edification in the amazing abilities of slime to hold things in touch and to lubricant passages for living beings and their parts” (When species meet, 3)
“If we appreciate the foolishness of human exceptionalism then we know that becoming is always becoming with, in a contact zone where the outcome, where who is in the world, is at stake.” (244)
Astrida Neimanis’ Hydrofeminism, as mentioned in Wk 14 was also a massive source of inspiration in learning to live in fluid motion along with others and nature.
Situated knowledges
All knowledge is situated, positional, partial, emergent
This does not make knowledge simply ‘subjective’. Rather the world is made up of a multitude of different interwoven perspectives and epistemologies - knowledges are situated, recursive, inherited and co-made.
“Like all offspring of colonizing, imperialising histories, I - we - have to relearn how to conjugate worlds with partial connections and not universals and particulars.” (Staying with the Trouble, 13) - https://www.topoi.org/project/a-3-8/
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Active Practice - planning ahead
My theme has helped me narrow down theme to help me build a cohesive body of work that is flexible and not constricting but has scope to expand or narrow down as required.
Using my theoretical work from last semester as a conceptual moodboard for work this semester I want to keep expanding my practical and experimental skills to explore the widest array of creative avenues before I have to consider degree show and dissertation week in fourth year.
Ophelia has always been a strong image to me - the scorned woman etc. and have seen many theatrical and painted interpretations of her over the years but something in my studies that I found fascinating was the peace in her body as she lies half-floating, half-sunk, half-alive, half-dead. The connection to the seidi world, a weak spot between existences, realms, is fascinating. I went on to make this version of ophelia in the form of a ceramic bowl where I experimented with form, hand building porcelain and brushed glazes
— lakes are notorious weak points between the worlds and reminds me of Shakespeare’s death of Ophelia (2016) who I also as a concept studied last year but I feel is painfully overused as the victim. It all seems more positive as she transitions to the spirit realm.
Reference List
Broey Deschanel (2021) Abject Women: The Greatest Horror of All (Accesed: 29th January 2024) https://youtu.be/k1yfsfQphmo?feature=shared
Broey Deschanel (2023) Fleabag is Not a Femcel (Accesed: 29th January 2024) https://youtu.be/fLtwG_i4Ng0?feature=shared
https://www.multispecies-salon.org/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieidi
Haraway, D. J. (2016) Staying with the trouble: making kin in the Chthulucene. Durham: Duke University Press.
Jayne, C. F. (2009) String Figures and How to Make Them: A Study of Cat’s Cradle in Many Lands. Buck, J. (eds) [Digitised book] Available at: http://www.stringfigures.info/cfj/ (Accessed 20th March 2024)
Shakespeare, W. (2016) Hamlet. Revised edition. Edited by A. Thompson and N. Taylor. London ; Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.